State warns Manhattan Beach not to meddle in pier fishing

Hermosa Beach officials decided to pass out fliers and increase code enforcement to fishers off their pier, since Manhattan Beach closed its pier to fishing because a swimmer was bitten by a white shark hooked by a pier fisher. Hermosa's pier has since been very crowded. (Chuck Bennett / Staff Photographer)

Hermosa Beach officials decided to pass out fliers and increase code enforcement to fishers off their pier, since Manhattan Beach closed its pier to fishing because a swimmer was bitten by a white shark hooked by a pier fisher. Hermosa's pier has since been very crowded. (Chuck Bennett / Staff Photographer)

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What: Manhattan Beach City Council meeting to discuss proposed fishing regulations from the city pier

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday

Where: City Hall council chambers, 1400 Highland Ave.

Manhattan Beach >> City officials on Tuesday again will wrestle with the proposed regulation of fishing from the city pier in spite of warnings from the state that their hands are tied.

Last month, after a young great white shark wrestling with a fisherman’s line bit a swimmer near the Manhattan Beach Pier, the City Council temporarily banned fishing from its iconic pier.

Uproar from both sides followed, with fishers scolding the council for blocking their constitutional access to the pier, and water enthusiasts urging the city to make the ban permanent in the name of public safety.

State regulators have since demanded that the city lift its “illegal” ban on pier fishing, as the City Council prepares to consider stringent fishing regulations at its Tuesday meeting.

City staff is recommending that the council limit fishing to the end of the pier by the Roundhouse Aquarium and prohibit the use of steel or metal lines, unnecessarily large hooks often used to catch sharks and chumming and snag lines.

But state commissioners say the city doesn’t have the authority to regulate fishing or even temporarily close the pier to anglers.

“The clearest thing in this whole issue is the city doesn’t have the authority to establish fishing regulations,” said Sonke Mastrup, executive director of the California Fish and Game Commission. “Since 1902, the Fish and Game Commission has had exclusive authority to regulate fishing activity, gear and methods.”

The city does, however, have the right to protect public health and safety, he said. But the commission does not feel the city has any evidence that the measure city leaders took strictly addresses health and safety.

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“We’re all for helping the city deal with public safety, but (actions) have to be based on facts and real threats, not just perception,” Mastrup said.

Many have argued that the council and community members had a knee-jerk response to one freak accident, painting all fishers as trouble. However, others have demanded that the city take legal action or even attempt to amend the California Constitution to rid the pier of anglers for good before another swimmer or surfer is hurt.

The first order of business should be exploring what is going on at the pier and the history of shark-related incidents, Mastrup said.

“Was this a fluke accident or something systemic about how we’re operating on the pier that caused this?” he asked. “Just because you have an auto accident on the freeway doesn’t mean you ban driving.

“You don’t generally start changing behavior because you had an unusual event. Sharks have always been in the water there, swimmers have always been around. What’s changed that they decided now is the time to do something, and will (the measures) really change the likelihood of something happening again?”

The California Coastal Commission has said that the city’s temporary ban is not legal because the pier is under the commission’s jurisdiction.

Although the city declared an emergency and a nuisance as its backing to put a 60-day ban in place, the commission said it did not feel an emergency permit allowing the ban was appropriate and did not give approval. Thus, the city’s ban violates the law.

“The city has not demonstrated that public property or life is in imminent danger,” Coastal Commission District Manager Teresa Henry wrote in a letter to the city. “The shark attack on the swimmer is an isolated incident that does not warrant the complete closure of a popular fishing pier for 60 days during the height of summer season.”

Instead, Henry suggested the city use educational signage and closely monitor fishing activities.

The commissions have demanded the city immediately lift its council-approved ban, which is in place through Sept. 5.

The Coastal Commission also has warned that the city cannot limit fishing on the pier to a certain area unless it is granted a coastal development permit, which is required for any change in the intensity of water use or access to it.

Henry said it is unlikely the commission would grant the permit, though, as it would restrict coastal access.

The Fish and Game Commission must give final approval for any new regulations related to fishing lines and hooks, Henry said.

Mastrup said the commission has not yet been contacted by the city.

Marko Mlikotin of the California Sportfishing League, which has gathered nearly 1,000 signatures on its “Protect Pier Fishing” petition, said the city has unfairly targeted a common form of safe recreation.

“The city faces a far greater threat of accidental drownings than an isolated shark attack, yet the city has never proposed banning swimming or enacting regulations that would require all swimmers to pass a swimming proficiency test before entering the ocean,” he said.

“These illegal, overly costly and onerous regulations will disproportionately impact minority and low-income Californians who rely on pier fishing for a source of affordable outdoor recreation and nutritious food.”

Mayor Amy Howorth said the council Tuesday night will try to strike a balance between public safety and the requirements under the law.

“It’s really frustrating because people on both sides are very passionate about their rights and this issue,” she said. “We are trying to make it safe for everybody.”

Howorth said she has faith that the council will think outside the box and come up with a solution, whether this Tuesday or down the road.

“There are a couple people out there abusing the rights and the access, and we have to have the ability to crack down on those people,” she said. “That seems to be the No. 1 problem.”